Shenzhen Alu Rapid Prototype Precision Co., Ltd.

Metal casting, one of the oldest metalworking techniques, was likely invented around 3200 BCE, based on the earliest surviving artifacts. This process involves pouring molten metal into a mold to shape it, and it emerged during the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) period as humans transitioned from stone tools to metal ones.

Key Timeline and Evidence

1.Circa 5000–4000 BCE (7,000 years ago): The process originated in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) and Southern Asia (including China and India). Early records, such as a clay tablet from ~4000 BCE, describe lost-wax casting for 2.items like keys, and a 6,000-year-old amulet from the Indus Valley Civilization shows advanced use for religious objects.

3.3200 BCE: The oldest known surviving casting is a small copper frog figurine from Mesopotamia, cast in an open stone mold. This marks the Bronze Age onset, where copper alloys (often with lead) were used for tools, weapons, and art.

4.By 1600–1040 BCE (Shang Dynasty in China): Innovations like piece-mold and sand casting appeared, enabling larger-scale production.

5.Mid-1st Millennium BCE: Widespread adoption in India for mass-producing coins using stackable clay molds.